A whirling vortex of smoke seen on camera as the "Park Fire" in California exploded Thursday looked just like a tornado, but scientists are investigating whether it was a rare fire tornado or just ...

Following is the text of the video. This is a "firenado," or fire tornado. It formed out of wildfires in Arganil, Portugal. Firenados are swirling columns of fire, but they aren't really tornados.

Are fire tornadoes a thing? Could "Sharknado" actually ... With Frances Fox." More from How Real Is It? Storm chaser Cyrena Arnold looks at seven hurricane and tornado scenes from popular TV ...